Curriculum Vitae: Lion Hirth
Prof. Dr. Lion Hirth [email protected] +49 30 259 219 -304
Short bio Prof. Dr. Lion Hirth is assistant professor at Hertie School, a Berlin-based public policy school; founder and director of Neon, a boutique energy economics consulting firm; and research fellow at MCC, a climate think tank. He is an energy economist and expert in renewable energy, electricity market design, and energy policy. Lion has advised clients from the private and public sector, including Germany’s Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the International Energy Agency, the European Commission, Agora Energiewende, and various European utilities. Lion is the founder of Strommarkttreffen, a 4000- member network of energy professionals in science, policy and industry. He has developed and maintains the open source power market model EMMA and coordinates Open Power System Data. Previously, Lion spent five years with the Swedish utility Vattenfall. Lion holds a Ph.D. and a Diploma in economics, and a Magister Artium in political science. His academic articles are published in the top energy economics and engineering journals, have won several awards and are among the most cited in the field.
Positions 2017 – present Assistant professor at Hertie School Assistant Professor of Governance of Digitalization and Energy Policy at Hertie School, a public policy school, teaching classes on energy economics, power market modeling, climate change, and economic growth 2014 – present Director of Neon Founder and director Neon Neue Energieökonomik GmbH, a Berlin-based boutique consulting firm for energy economics, advising international clients from the public and private sector to design and navigate power systems and markets 2014 – 2016 Post-doc researcher at MCC Post-doctoral researcher at Mercator Research-Institute for Global Commons and Climate Change, a think tank for climate economics 2009 – 2014 Market Analyst at Vattenfall Market analyst at Vattenfall Group Strategy, assessing renewable energy policy, long-term electricity prices and balancing energy
- 1 - Education 2012 – 2014 Economics (Ph.D.), Technical University of Berlin The dissertation “The Economics of Wind and Solar Variability” (summa cum laude) was supervised by Ottmar Edenhofer. 2004 – 2009 Economics (Diploma), University of Tübingen Final grade: 1.1 (corresponds to A+), best degree in economics 2005 – 2010 Political Science (Magister Artium), University of Tübingen Final grade: “excellent” (A+) 2006 – 2009 Study abroad and research visits University of Massachusetts (USA), Universidad Católica (Chile), John Abbot College (Canada), Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (Germany) 1994 – 2004 Willi-Graf-Gymnasium, Munich Final grade: 1.2 (A+)
Teaching 2017 – present Master-level lectures and seminars at Hertie School 2014 – present Executive training seminars in power markets, energy economics, and modeling 2013 – 2018 Master-level courses at TU Berlin and HTW Berlin 2006 – 2012 Summer schools for Deutsche Schülerakademie, Teaching assistant at U Tübingen
Honors 2018 Excellence in Teaching Award, Hertie School 2017 - 2018 Fellow Freies Wissen, Wikimedia Deutschland 2017 Open Science Award of Schleswig-Holstein for OPSD project 2015 Best paper award, INREC conference Essen 2014 Best working paper award, International Association for Energy Economics 2013 Selected paper, Solar Integration Workshop London 2013 Best paper award and Best poster award, IEWT conference Vienna 2011 Best degree in economics, University of Tübingen 2005 – 2010 Scholarship, Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes 2007 – 2009 Scholarships, Hertie-Stiftung, DAAD, University of Massachusetts
Initiatives 2009 – today Founder of Strommarkttreffen, a network for professionals in energy 2014 – today Founder of the Openmod Initiative, a network for open-source energy modeling
- 2 - Research interest
• The economics of wind and solar energy • Electricity market design • System integration of renewables • Energy policy • Balancing systems and markets • Electricity network pricing and locational incentives • Power system modeling • Open-source software and open data in energy
Publications
Lion has published 26 articles in economics and engineering journals, including single-author papers in the leading field outlets Energy Economics, The Energy Journal, and Applied Energy. His “Market Value” paper is the most cited article in Energy Economics in recent years (see ranking) as is “Optimal Share” in The Energy Journal (see ranking). Google Scholar lists a total of 3000 citations, yielding an h- index of 22. RePEc lists Lion among the top 5% energy economists and among the top 10 of all economists of the cohort 2014. Lion’s publications have won several awards, including the best paper award of the International Association for Energy Economics.
Google scholar | RePEc | ResearchGate | SSRN | All papers (zip)
First-authored articles in peer-reviewed journals 26. Reforming the electric power industry in developing economies: Evidence on efficiency and electricity access outcomes, Energy Policy, 2020 (w/ Andrea Dertinger). pdf 25. Open Data for Electricity Modeling: Legal Aspects, Energy Strategy Reviews, 2020. open access 24. The ENTSO-E Transparency Platform. An assessment of Europe’s most ambitious electricity data platform, Applied Energy, 2018 (w/ Jonathan Mühlenpfordt & Marisa Bulkeley). open access 23. What caused the drop of European electricity prices? A factor decomposition analysis, The Energy Journal, 2018. open access 22. The benefits of flexibility: The value of wind energy with hydropower, Applied Energy, 2016. pdf 21. The role of capital costs for decarbonizing the power sector, Environmental Research Letters, 2016 (w/ Jan Steckel). pdf 20. System-friendly Wind Power, Energy Economics, 2016 (w/ Simon Müller). pdf | Best paper award INREC 19. Why Wind is not Coal: On the Economics of Electricity Generation, The Energy Journal, 2016 (w/ Falko Ueckerdt & Ottmar Edenhofer). pdf
- 3 - 18. Balancing Power and Variable Renewables: Three Links, Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2015 (w/ Inka Ziegenhagen). pdf 17. Integration Costs Revisited – An economic framework of wind and solar variability, Renewable Energy, 2015 (w/ Falko Ueckerdt & Ottmar Edenhofer). pdf | Best paper award IAEE | Best poster award IEWT | Best paper award IEWT 16. The Optimal Share of Variable Renewables: How the Variability of Wind and Solar Power affects their Welfare-optimal Deployment, The Energy Journal, 2015. pdf | review 15. The Market Value of Solar Power: Is Photovoltaics Cost-Competitive?, IET Renewable Power Generation, 2015. pdf | Selected paper Solar Integration Workshop 14. The Market Value of Variable Renewables: The effect of solar wind power variability on their relative price, Energy Economics, 2013. pdf 13. Redistribution Effects of Energy and Climate Policy: The electricity market, Energy Policy, 2013 (w/ Falko Ueckerdt). pdf
Co-authored articles in peer-reviewed journals 12. Locational investment signals in electricity markets, The Energy Journal, 2020 (w/ Anselm Eicke & Tarun Khanna) 11. Flexible power and hydrogen production: Finding synergy between CCS and variable renewables, Energy, 2019 (w/ Schalk Cloete). open access 10. Technology-neutral auctions for renewable energy: EU law vs. reality in Member States, Journal for European Enviromental & Planning Law, 2019 (w/ Lars Jerrentrup, Bastian Lotz & Silvana Tiedemann). pdf 9. Time series of heat demand and heat pump efficiency for energy system modeling, Nature Scientific Data, 2019. (w/ Oliver Ruhnau & Aaron Praktiknjo). open access 8. Short-Term Electricity Trading for System Balancing, Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2019 (w/ Christopher Koch). pdf 7. Open Power System Data - Frictionless data for electricity system modelling, Applied Energy, 2019 (w/ Frauke Wiese, Ingmar Schlecht, Juliane Reimann, Clemens Gerbaulet, Martin Jahn, Jonathan Mühlenpfordt, Friedrich Kunz, Wolf-Peter Schill & Casimir Lorenz). pdf 6. Opening the black box of energy modelling: strategies and lessons learned, Energy Strategy Reviews, 2018 (w/ Stefan Pfenninger, Ingmar Schlecht, Eva Schmid, Frauke Wiese, Tom Brown, Chris Davis, Matthew Gidden, Heidi Heinrichs & Clara Heuberger). open access 5. The importance of open data and software: is energy research lagging behind?, Energy Policy, 2017 (w/ Stefan Pfenninger, Joseph DeCarolis, Sylvain Quoilin & Iain Staffell). open access 4. Carpe diem: A novel approach to select representative days for long-term power system models with high shares of renewable energy sources, Energy, 2016 (w/ Paul Nahmmacher, Eva Schmid & Brigitte Knopf). open access
- 4 - 3. On the Economics of Renewable Energy Sources, Energy Economics, 2013 (w/ Ottmar Edenhofer, Brigitte Knopf, Michael Pahle, Steffen Schloemer, Eva Schmid & Falko Ueckerdt). pdf 2. System LCOE: What are the costs of variable renewables?, Energy, 2013 (w/ Falko Ueckerdt, Gunnar Luderer & Ottmar Edenhofer). pdf 1. Carbon lock-out: Advancing renewable energy policy in Europe, Energies, 2012 (w/ Paul Lehmann, Felix Creutzig, Melf-Hinrich Ehlers, Nele Friedrichsen, Clemens Heuson & Robert Pietzcker). open access
Working paper / under review Heating with Wind, EconStor, 2019 (w/ Oliver Ruhnau & Aaron Praktiknjo) Markets for Local Flexibility in Distribution Networks, EconStor, 2019 (w/ Julia Radecke & Joseph Hefele) Redispatch Markets in Zonal Electricity Markets, EconStor, 2019 (w/ Ingmar Schlecht). Congestion Management: From Physics to Regulatory Instruments, EconStor, 2018 (w/ Samuel Glismann) Eyes on the price: Which power generation technologies set the market price?, FEEM Working Paper, 2018 (w/ Eike Blume-Werry, Thomas Faber, Claus Huber & Martin Everts) The Market Value of Wind and Solar Power: An Analytical Approach, IAEE Working Paper, 2016 (w/ Alexander Radebach) Minimal Thermal Generation in Power Systems, IAEE Working Paper, 2015. How much electricity do we consume? A guide to German and European electricity consumption and generation data, FEEM Working Paper, 2014 (w/ Maximilian Schumacher).
Dissertation The Economics of Wind and Solar Variability, TU Berlin, 2014.
Other publications The importance of open data and software for energy research and policy advise, SETIS Magazine, 2016 (w/ Stefan Pfenninger, Joseph DeCarolis, Sylvain Quoilin & Iain Staffell). Übertragungsnetzbetreiber erwarten massiven Wertverlust für Solarstrom, Phasenprüfer, 7 January 2016 (with Jakob Schlandt) Jenseits des Sündenbocks Erneuerbare: Was hat den Verfall des Börsenstrompreises wirklich verursacht? , Phasenprüfer, 13 August 2015 (with Christoph Weber). Das Ende der Grundlast, Phasenprüfer, 26 May 2015. Solarstrom - an der Börse immer weniger wert, pv magazine, 23 April 2015. Die Ökonomie der Energiewende, Phasenprüfer, 9 March 2015.
- 5 - Wind, Sonne und Regelleistung, energiewirtschaftliche tagesfragen, 2013 (with Inka Ziegenhagen). pdf | Mandarin The Decreasing Market Value of Variable Renewables: Integration Options and Deadlocks, in: Detlef Stolten & Viktor Scherer (eds.): Transition to Renewable Energy Systems: Energy Process Engineering, Wiley, 2013 (with Falko Ueckerdt). pdf
Press coverage Die versteckten Kosten der Erneuerbaren, NZZ, 2019 Europe risks costly mistake with redispatch markets, Montel News, 2018 Wind and Solar Power Advance, but Carbon Refuses to Retreat, New York Times, 2017 Vattenkraft förbättrar vindkraftens lönsamhet, Second Opinion, 2016 (Swedish) 3 Ways Wind and Solar Can Continue To Grow In a 21st-Century Grid, Rocky Mountain Institute Outlet, 2015 Renewable energy sector runs the risk of overpowering market, Financial Times, 2015. pdf No business case for lots of wind and solar, Energy Transition, 2015 Strom aus Erneuerbaren kannibalisiert sich selbst, Handelsblatt, 2015 (German) A Look at Wind and Solar, Part 2: Is There An Upper Limit To Variable Renewables?, TheEnergyCollective, 2015 The Optimal Share of Intermittent Renewables, TheEnergyCollective, 2014 Doe windenergie niet af als kostenpost van miljarden euro’s, NRC, 2014 (Dutch)
Peer review
Lion has served as referee for various journals and funding bodies, including: Energy Economics The Energy Journal IEEE Transactions on Power Systems IEEE Transactions on Renewable Energy Energy Policy Economics of Energy and Environmental Policy Research Council of Norway
Research grants
START. Project funded by BMBF and headed by Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research (Hertie share EUR 42,000). Within the large and diverse START project, we empirically research locational investment signals in electricity systems.
- 6 - MODELX-Polins. Project funded by BMWi and headed by University of Duisburg-Essen (Hertie share EUR 82,000). In this model comparison exercise, we will test and validate various energy system models with respect to policy instruments such as carbon pricing.
SENTINEL. Project funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 program headed by ETH Zürich (Hertie share EUR 312,000). SENTINEL will focus on open source model development for the integrated European energy sector.
Consulting projects
The following list summarizes consulting projects conducted by Neon. An overview of projects that Lion conducted in previous positions as well as letters of reference from clients are available on request.
Redispatch (BMWi). Assessment of alternative options to source redispatch resources, including redispatch markets and local markets for flexibility. The client is Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, Berlin. Neon serves as project coordinator for a consortium of Consentec, Connect Energy Economics, Fraunhofer ISI, Ecofys, and SUER and is responsible for two work packages. 2017-20. Open source modeling (BMWi). Study on open source energy system modeling and open data in the energy sector for BMWi. Neon leads a consortium of DIW Berlin, TU Berlin and ETH Zurich. 2018-20. Electricity supply contract (European industrial company). Evaluation of a long-term electricity supply contract for a large-scale energy-intensive industrial consumer in the context of a court case. 2018. TSO data quality (European Commission). Assessment of data quality provided by European transmission system operators for DG Energy, Brussels. 2017. An article based on this study appeared in Applied Energy. More Portfolio management costs (European utility). Regulatory assessment and quantitative cost benchmarks for portfolio management costs of renewable energy for the trading department of a major European utility. 2017. Nodal pricing (BMWi). Consulting on locational price signals in wholesale markets. Along with Consentec, Neon was responsible to organize a series of workshop and write a project report. 2016- 17. Market value of wind power (European utility). Evaluation of design options and operation strategies to improve the economics of wind power under market conditions. 2016-17. Wind value in the Nordic region (Energiforsk). Model-based assessment of the market value of wind energy in the hydro-dominated power system of the Nordic region. Neon designed the study, developed the model, and wrote the report, which appeared in Applied Energy. 2016. More EU electricity market design (BMWi). Policy advise on wholesale market and balancing market design in the development of the Clean Energy for all Europeans package. Neon was member of a consortium with Connect, Consentec, and others. 2016-18. Reasons for the price drop (Swedish Energy). Swedish wholesale power prices declined by two thirds from 2010 to 2015. Neon conducted a model-based assessment of the reasons for this price drop. 2016. More The benefits of hydropower flexibility (European utility). Model-based assessment of capture rates for a European utility. Neon provided a model-based assessment of the market value of wind energy and hydroelectricity. 2016.
- 7 - Generation time series (European utility). Neon provided in-feed time series of wind and solar power from re-analysis models. 2016. System-friendly wind and solar power (IEA). Model-based study for the International Energy Agency. Neon assessed the market and system benefits of low-wind speed wind turbines and east- and west- oriented PV. 2014-16. A summary report is published in Energy Economics. More Integration costs (Agora Energiewende). Qualitative study for Agora Energiewende. Neon advised Agora and helped implement workshops in Berlin and Paris. 2015. More Model development (European utility). Neon supported the trading department of a major European utility in power market model development. 2015. Whole system costs (DECC). Neon reviewed a report on whole system costs of wind and solar power for the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change, London. 2015. Open Power System Data (BMWi). Construction of an online platform for European power system data. Neon coordinated a team of three research institutes. 2015-17. More Electricity market design (IEA-RETD). Assessment of long-term wholesale and retail power market design under very high shares of variable renewables in cooperation with FTI CL Energy. 2015-16. More Ad-hoc consulting. Neon regularly advises financial institutions and investment banks on renewable energy and power markets. Power market trainings and workshops. Neon trained staff at BMWi, IRENA, BMEL, RP Global, ERRA, Vattenfall, JRC, EHA, 50 Hertz, GIZ, IASS Potsdam, UFZ, Swedenergy, Innogy, Clean Air Task Force, IG Windkraft, Hochschule Reutlingen, Axpo, Renac, Europe Beyond Coal, Agora Energiewende in topics such as power markets, energy economics, energy policy, and electricity market modeling. More
Teaching
Slides and evaluation results are available on request.
2020 Electricity Economics. Hertie School, Master-level. Power systems, electricity markets, merit order model, scarcity pricing, market value of renewables, electricity grids. Electricity System Modeling. Hertie School, Master-level. Power market modeling based on Excel and GAMS.
2019 Electricity Economics. Hertie School, Master-level. Power systems, electricity markets, merit order model, scarcity pricing, market value of renewables, electricity grids. Renewable Energy Policies. Hertie School, Master-level. Support schemes for renewable energy, auction design, risk and finance, net metering and prosumers. Emissions Pricing. Hertie School, Master-level (w/ Christian Flachsland). Taxes vs. quantities, EU Emission Trading Scheme, global cap and trade systems. Economic Growth & Climate Change. Hertie School, Master-level. Empirics of growth, Solow and Ramsey model, economics of ideas, poverty and inequality, climate change, sustainability. Electricity System Modeling. Hertie School, Master-level. Power market modeling based on Excel and GAMS.
- 8 - 2018 Electricity Systems & Markets. Hertie School, Master-level. Power systems, electricity markets, merit order model, scarcity pricing, market value of renewables, electricity grids. Renewable Energy Policies. Hertie School, Master-level. Support schemes for renewable energy, auction design, risk and finance, net metering and prosumers. Emissions Pricing. Hertie School, Master-level (w/ Christian Flachsland). Taxes vs. quantities, EU Emission Trading Scheme, global cap and trade systems. Economic Growth & Climate Change. Hertie School, Master-level. Empirics of growth, Solow and Ramsey model, economics of ideas, poverty and inequality, climate change, sustainability. Electricity Economics & Modeling. Hertie School, Master-level. Power market modeling based on Excel and GAMS. Electricity Economics & Modeling. TU Berlin, Master-level. Power market modeling based on Excel and GAMS. Power Markets & Energy Economics. Neon, professional training seminar. Power systems, electricity markets, merit order model, scarcity pricing, market value of renewables, electricity grids. Electricity system modeling. Neon, professional training seminar. Power market modeling based on Excel and GAMS.
2017 Electricity Economics & Technology. Hertie School, Master-level. Power systems, electricity markets, merit order model, scarcity pricing, market value of renewables, electricity grids. Renewable Energy Policies. Hertie School, Master-level. Support schemes for renewable energy, auction design, risk and finance, net metering and prosumers. Sustainable Energy & Climate Change. Hertie School, executive Master (w/ Claudia Kemfert). Economic Growth & Climate Change. Hertie School, Master-level. Empirics of growth, Solow and Ramsey model, economics of ideas, poverty and inequality, climate change, sustainability. Power market modeling. Neon, professional training seminar. Power market modeling based on Excel and GAMS.
2016 The Economics of Climate Change. TU Berlin, Master-level (w/ Ottmar Edenhofer). Climate physics, cost-benefit analysis of climate change, welfare theory, discounting.
2015 The Economics of Climate Policy. TU Berlin, Master-level (w/ Edenhofer). Market failures, internalization instruments, carbon pricing, international negotiations and game theory. The Economics of Climate Change. TU Berlin, Master-level (w/ Edenhofer). Climate physics, cost-benefit analysis of climate change, welfare theory, discounting.
2014 Climate Change, Land Use & Infrastructure. TU Berlin, Master-level (w/ Edenhofer). Land use and bioenergy, urban economics, land rent taxation. Electricity Economics. HTW Berlin, Master-level (w/ Andreas Raab).
‘07-‘13 Electricity Economics. HTW Berlin, Master-level (w/ Raab). The Economics of Everything. Summer school “Deutsche Schülerakademie”. Two weeks full- time undergraduate-level course (w/ Marie-Therese von Schickfus). Electricity. Summer school “Deutsche Schülerakademie”. Two weeks full-time undergraduate- level course (w/ Jonas Peters) Energy Revolution. Summer school “JGW Nachhaltigkeitsakademie”. Ten days full-time undergraduate-level course (w/ Valentin Schwamberger).
- 9 - Global Warming. Summer school “JGW Nachhaltigkeitsakademie”. Ten days full-time undergraduate-level course (w/ Schwamberger). Public Finance, Macroeconomics I, Marcoeconomics II. Teaching assistant at University of Tübingen and Technical University of Berlin.
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